Math Rigor for Research

[JerryC]

I'm currently a high school student deciding on my senior year courses. I aspire to be a research psychologist, so I am a little confused as to what mathematics course I should take. Should I take AP statistics or pre-calculus honors?(NOTE: I am not bad at math.. I was lazy so I didn't apply for the accelerated course) I've been told by some that calculus is required for psych. but some, not. What course should I take to prepare me for research in psychology?

[benders_antenna]

I'm currently a high school student deciding on my senior year courses. I aspire to be a research psychologist, so I am a little confused as to what mathematics course I should take. Should I take AP statistics or pre-calculus honors?(NOTE: I am not bad at math.. I was lazy so I didn't apply for the accelerated course) I've been told by some that calculus is required for psych. but some, not. What course should I take to prepare me for research in psychology?

IMO, I would take the AP class for the following:

1. If you score well on the exam, you can earn college credit which could save you a good chunk of loot and probably knock out a math requirement.

2. The AP course can be good prep for the Psych department stats and research methods (fancy title for more stats) courses.

3. Psych graduate programs are going to ask for MORE stats so a solid foundation in this area can be helpful.

4. Since all research is based off of stats, taking the AP course can help you decide if it's something you want to deal with for the rest of your life.

5. Calculus typically is not a requirement for undergraduate psych degrees nor psych graduate programs.

[jblsmith]

I'm currently a high school student deciding on my senior year courses. I aspire to be a research psychologist, so I am a little confused as to what mathematics course I should take. Should I take AP statistics or pre-calculus honors?(NOTE: I am not bad at math.. I was lazy so I didn't apply for the accelerated course) I've been told by some that calculus is required for psych. but some, not. What course should I take to prepare me for research in psychology?

As an Econ student I've taken a fair number of math courses in High School, College, and Grad School and I can tell you that you can never go wrong with more rigor. That being said you must also consider the requirements of your field. I don't feel that high-order, abstract classes like real analysis or differential equations would be appropriate for psychology but I would STRONGLY suggest taking all the statistics you can get your hands on. I know that rigorous statistical analysis is vital to publishing in a respected medical journal. Take the AP stats class then when you get to college continue to take statistics and even econometrics (if they'll allow it). If you do decide to take calculus you probably only need Calc I. I can't see a psychologist needend needing Calc II or III.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

[JerryC]

Thanks guys. Any PhDs able to confirm this?

[neuropsych76]

Thanks guys. Any PhDs able to confirm this?

I don't think there are too many people on here with their completed PhD. But I think current grad student advice is just as valuable for this question. I agree that the AP stats class would probably be more important for research psychology. You'll likely only need psychology stats and calculus in college for PhD programs but the more quantitative classes the better. I only had calc and psych stats in college and I'm heading off an experimental psych phd program focusing on quantitative neuroscience. So, once you complete the basic math classes, you can do pretty much anything in psychology

[Zencarrot]

The only "math" you're going to need in Psychology is statistics.

I live in Canada and I had to take calculus in my Psychology undergrad, but they have since removed that as a requirement.

[lewin]

The only "math" you're going to need in Psychology is statistics.

I live in Canada and I had to take calculus in my Psychology undergrad, but they have since removed that as a requirement.

Agreed. Math helps to the extent that it teaches you to read formulas and do basic calculations, which you'll probably do in undergraduate stats, but the actual calculations you'll be doing are pretty simple (e.g., algebra). The more complicated stuff (e.g., hierarchical linear modelling, structural equation modelling) is really complex but in my experience most graduate students don't need to understand the underlying math unless one is specializing in methods.

tldr: Statistics and probability are mandatory, anything else is above and beyond.

[iopsych]

Calculus can be helpful for more advanced statistics like structural equation modeling and item response theory. But it is not completely necessary. I agree that stats is the only one that is completely necessary.